Roy Exum: My RSVP, My Principles

Tuesday, January 30, 2018
- by Roy Exum

Roy Exum

Two of my dearest and closest friends have invited me to their house Sunday night for dinner, much merriment, and to watch the Super Bowl. I have respectfully declined since I have not watched an NFL game this season so why start now? My reason for finding something else to do on Sunday -- along with over two million other people -- is because I will not abide desecrating our flag, our country, or the millions who died defending the freedoms that allow some NFL players to do exactly that.

I fault not one of my fellow Americans who will enjoy watching Philadelphia and New England play what promises to be a great game. I do admonish the owners and the league itself for allowing an estimated $500 million in losses and insisting there are proper ways to protest without disrespecting our nation. No other business enterprise in America would have allowed their reputation to become so publicly sullied.

We know the main instigator, former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, is very much a liberal activist. We also believe that no less than four NFL teams chose to have losing seasons rather than have the controversial athlete smear their teams in the same way he has the league, They would have loved to have Kaepernick the player but didn’t dare sign Kaepernick the person. The jilted player is suing the NFL for collusion rather than common sense.

Unfortunately, Kaepernick is not alone. Last April a Drexel University professor was on a flight when a passenger in first class gave his seat to a soldier in uniform in turn for the soldier’s economy ticket. The professor, George Ciccariello-Maher, tweeted the act “made him want to vomit.” So vicious and frightening was the reaction the university placed him on paid leave in October.

Ciccarriello-Maher wasn’t silenced. Just before the holidays, he tweeted “All I Want for Christmas is White Genocide” and Drexel, a haven in Philadelphia for liberal types, could stand it no longer. A statement by the university read, “While the university recognizes the rights of its faculty to freely express their thoughts and opinions in public debate, Ciccariello-Maher’s comments are utterly reprehensible, deeply disturbing, and do not in any way reflect the values of the university.”

Citing ongoing threats, the ousted professor is now a visiting scholar at NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. Don’t worry … “the other side” will soon find him.

Last weekend in California, a high school instructor noticed a kid in one of his classes wearing a Marine Corps sweatshirt and went on a profanity-laced rant that has now gone all over the world. Gregory Salcido, also a Councilman and former Mayor of Pico Rivera, California – a Mayberry-type of town inhabited by mostly Hispanics – called members of the U.S. Military “the lowest of the low.”

The backlash has been worse than a major tsunami. His raging comment included, “Think about the people you know who are over there,” he yelled at his students. “They are your freaking stupid Uncle Louie or whatever! They’re dumb (expletives). They are not high level bankers, they are not academic people, they’re not intellectual people … They are the freaking lowest of the low.”

The whole town of Pico Rivera is reeling and the councilman is in hiding. The city council, shaken for Salcido’s actions, faced news cameras yesterday and stood with Mayor Gustavo V. Camacho as he said gravely, “We the elected governing body of the City of Pico Rivera unequivocally disagree and condemn the recent comments made by Councilmember Salcido regarding those individuals who have served or are currently serving in our nation’s military.

“The City Council and residents of Pico Rivera are steadfast in the recognition that the contributions by those who have served or are currently serving our country via military service are respected and we are grateful for their service,” the mayor said, it widely known the city is a very pro-military supporter. Salcido has been removed from every assigned council committee and the word is the public will demand the disgraced teacher resign from the council in coming days.

“The City of Pico Rivera was founded upon the principles, values and sacrifices of many of our veterans who when called upon by our nation served with great pride and honor,” the mayor said. “Those men and women who have proudly served in our nation’s armed forces have proven time and again that personal sacrifice in the face of injustice and tyranny can literally change the world for the better.”

Not to be outdone, Councilman Bob Archuleta is a former paratrooper who has had two sons who graduated from West Point. “I am appalled that someone who is educating our children in the classroom can demean our veterans, our men and women in uniform,” he said.

School board president Aurora Villon assumed the posture, “I cannot discuss it since it is a personnel matter but I assure you we are conducting a full investigation … and moving very swiftly.”

ONE MORE: A Texas high school principal, Mick Cochran, is allegedly threatening to inform the U.S. Naval Academy that his school’s valedictorian delivered a speech that referenced God and the U.S. Constitution. The Joshua High school principal is planning to question the character of Remington Reimer, who has accepted an appointment to the academy. Hiram Sasser, who is a litigator for the Liberty Institute, is eager to exonerate the boy.

Reimer, a senior at Joshua High School, made national headlines on June 6 when officials cut off his microphone in mid-speech after he strayed from pre-approved remarks and began talking about his relationship with Jesus Christ, thanking God for “sending His only son to die for me and the rest of the world,” the Joshua Star reported.

Later the high school graduate told reporters, “It was intimidating having my high school principal threaten my future because I wanted to stand up for the Constitution and acknowledge my faith and not simply read a government-approved speech,” the teenager said.

Sasser is asking for a public apology by the principal.

When the mic was cut, here is what remained of Reimer’s speech:

“We are all fortunate to live in a country where we can express our beliefs, where our mics won’t be turned off, as I have been threatened to be if I veer away from the school-censored speech I have just finished,” he said according to the newspaper. “Just as Jesus spoke out against the authority of the Pharisees and Sadducees, who tried to silence him, I will not have my freedom of speech taken away from me. And I urge you all to do the same. Do not let anyone take away your religious or Constitutional rights from you.”

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“Is freedom anything else than the right to live as we wish? Nothing else.” – Epictetus

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“Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.” -- Ronald Reagan

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“In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

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“Each time we cooperate with God, we take one more giant step forward. Because when God asks us to change, it means that He always has something better to give us – more freedom, greater joy, and greater blessings.” -- Joyce Meyer

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